April Hits & Misses (a recap)

Wow! April flew by in a prolific flash. Between the #AtoZ Challenge and various #NaPoWriMo activities there was no shortage of inspirational prompts and the writing/blogging community was alive. I’ve loved the energy — perhaps too much as I posted over 75 posts this month and broke all my records for readership/likes/comments. Thanks to everyone that had the endurance to keep up with me!

Here is a recap of the top three posts and the worst performer (based on number of views) for April:

No. 1: Turtle Soup: A Flashback

The Stats: 75 views (top post on my blog so far)

The Gist: This was a flashback (re-post) from my old blog and recounts my shared experience with Turtle Soup together with my Shanghainese father-in-law. It’s a wonderful recount of a cross-cultural exchange (if I may say so myself).

The Take-away: I shared the link of this post with my network here in China which is why it blew up, but I do think people genuinely enjoy reading about true life experiences, especially if they are heartwarming and joyful. There were three other flash-back posts this month that are worth a visit if you missed them: 25-Years Ago Today Part I, 25-Years Ago Today Part II, and Boys Gone Wild.

No. 2: Seriously Silly Poetry (#AtoZ)

The Stats: 56 views for top post (~500 views for entire series)

The Gist: An A to Z series of seriously silly poetry as part of the #AtoZChallenge. Each silly and/or sweet poem is illustrated.

The Take-away: This #AtoZ series was certainly the highlight of the month by bringing in the most new readers to my blog. And my theme of Seriously Silly Poetry was seriously fun to do. It took a lot of work but it was worth it and the series has now been compiled into a book: “Apples Eating Zebras and other seriously silly poetry” (available now in both paperback and e-book versions).

No. 3: The Golden Shovel April

The Stats: 52 views for top post

The Gist: This was a reboot of my Golden Shovel collaboration project including three unique golden shovel prompts and submissions from multiple members of the writing community.

The Take-Away: I love when the writing community get together and flexes our creative muscles together. The diversity of each persons approach to the prompt is always compelling. Thanks again to the community members that joined. If you want to give it a try, it’s never too late.

The Flop: none

While I did have some lower performing posts I don’t consider any of the posts this month a flop. Some just got lost in the flurry.

Here are a few little gems that you might have missed:

2020 NaPoWriMo Prompt #03: Zoe

This Glosa poem pulls from Claude McKay’s “Tropics in New York” and is one three different forms that I’ve explored this piece. It’s more of a poetic story then traditional poem and its worth checking out. This is one of a bunch of posts I made in response to NaPoWriMo – 30 Poems in 30 Days prompts (which I’m still working through as I encountered these prompts halfway through the month).

Paint Chip Poetry: Earth Mama

The paint chip poetry series is a wonderful little collaboration project hosted by No Love for Fatties and is always worth a look and try. Earth Mama is one of the weekly posts in this series.

Flex Poetry Challenge: Love Envisioned (Ottava Rima)

Of all the poetry month prompts this month, I fell in love most with this series of prompts hosted by the lovely poet behind A Different Perspective. Each prompt inspired me to learn a new poetic form. Love Envisioned is one of the 11 posts in this series.

Be well,

Monty

• Getting Organized
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• The Greens are Vibrant
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• Reading Luke
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• Gone Bald (Again)
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• Unstapled
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• Partially Figured
  Be well, Monty
• 3am
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• Horizon
  Be well, Monty
• Wound Up
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• Playful
  Be well, Monty
• Dragon in Flight
  Be well, Monty
• All of Me
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• Morning Concert
  It’s drizzling around me. I first noticed the patter upon the umbrella above. A little too heavy to be the mosquitos dancing. A little tooContinue reading “Morning Concert”
• The Day After Yesterday
  The Day After Yesterday The morning is cool. The air is a fresh floral green.The light is bright beyond the shade tree’s shadow. My mindContinue reading “The Day After Yesterday”
• Another Floral Pattern
  Be well, Monty
• Weave Too
  Be well, Monty
• Weave
  Be well, Monty
• Painted Flowers
  Painted Flowers I bought these flowers for my wife yesterday. An early nod to Mother’s Day. Since we are having guests over at the houseContinue reading “Painted Flowers”
• On Exhibit
  Be well, Monty
• A Little More Than a Drizzle
  The birds are insistent today. I don’t speak their language, but I get their point. It’s a brand new day and the wonder of thatContinue reading “A Little More Than a Drizzle”
• The Human
  The Human I saw the figure as I turned the corner —Cold, calloused, and oddly angled; Creepy. Nightmarish. A Human. It smelt something awful. MustContinue reading “The Human”
• Strangers
  Be well, Monty
• Another Garden Dawdler
  It’s time for Rory’s Garden Dawdler again — nine questions posed once a week for our answering pleasure. Back in my garden and impressed withContinue reading “Another Garden Dawdler”
• Figures
  Be well, Monty
• Willing and Able
  Willing and AbleHe is willing, am I?Am I willing to let go, let God?To plant my seeds of doubtAnd trust faith will flourish? He isContinue reading “Willing and Able”
• An Exercise III
  Be well, Monty
• An Exercise II
  Be well, Monty
• Under the Pi Pa Tree
  I’m sitting under the pi pa tree observing hundreds of yet to ripen fruits. I wonder what pi pa jam tastes like? It was justContinue reading “Under the Pi Pa Tree”
• An Exercise
  Be well, Monty
• Morning Ride
  Morning Ride Her arms wrapped around me,Wanting more, I sped up;She held on tighter;I smiled into the rushing wind,Wishing I could go faster. Mrs. MontyContinue reading “Morning Ride”
• An Old Sketch
  An Old Sketch What’s this?A tree yet to be.Or, If roasted,A fragrant snack. Be well, Monty